Monday, March 13, 2017

The Philippine
environment minister has asked President Rodrigo Duterte to halt a second
review of 28 mines that she ordered closed or suspended, challenging its
legality despite initially supporting it.

The U-turn by
Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Regina Lopez comes as she faces
pressure to defend her decision to shut more than half the country's mines, a
move that prompted an industry outcry and concerns about lost revenue.

The government's Mining
Industry Coordinating Council (MICC), an inter-agency panel that includes the
finance ministry, is conducting a review of the mines following criticism from
miners that the original decision was baseless and lacked due process.

"The MICC is not
mandated to do a review of any mining operation. The only agency that can do a
review of mining operations is DENR, and that's what we've done," Lopez
told Reuters, referring to her environment agency.

Duterte's spokesman,
Ernesto Abella, declined to comment on Lopez's latest move, saying it was not
discussed in a cabinet meeting.

Duterte, who last year
warned miners to abide by stricter environmental rules or close down, has so
far backed Lopez, a committed environmentalist, in the increasingly contentious
dispute.

She faces a Philippine
legislative hearing set for Wednesday to confirm her appointment after an
initial hearing was postponed last week. She is among just a few of Duterte's
appointees yet to get the green light from lawmakers.

Lopez on Feb. 2 ordered
the closure of 23 of 41 mines in the world's top nickel ore supplier and
suspended five others to protect watersheds after a months-long review last
year by the environment agency.

Members of the MICC met
a week later and agreed to a second review of the affected mines, issuing a
joint resolution signed by Lopez and Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez who
co-chair the mining council.

"Whether I signed
it or not the fact of the law is the law," Lopez said.

The MICC was created
through a 2012 executive order by former President Benigno Aquino and tasked,
as part of its duties, to review mining laws and regulations and ensure their
implementation.

Lopez said she's
challenging the review after learning that the second assessment will cost 50
million pesos ($1 million). "I've already done the review, what more do
you want?" she asked.